FALL 2013
In this issue:
Educator Preparation
(Ed Prep) Newsletter

Ed Prep Spotlight: 175 Years of Ed Prep

Convening Follow-ups

Early ID System/MEPIDs

Technical Assistance FAQs

Ed Prep Calendar

Program Review Updates: Leadership and SEI

Comments, Feedback and Ed Prep Staff
Ed Prep Spotlight: Massachusetts Celebrates 175 Years of Educator Preparation
This year, Massachusetts will celebrate the 175th anniversary of the first state-supported school dedicated to the training
of teachers with the founding of the first Normal School at Framingham State University in 1839. With this
commemoration comes the opportunity for the Commonwealth to reflect and recommit to leading the nation in the
effective preparation of our educators. Towards this end, Massachusetts was recently awarded a two-year grant through
the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to implement recommendations laid out in Our Responsibility, Our
Promise. As one of seven states who will be participating in the Network for Transforming Educator Preparation (NTEP),
ESE will lend additional momentum to the major initiatives already underway in our state. Below you will find updates
for ongoing and upcoming work that positions us as leaders in educator preparation.
Licensure
 Implement valid, reliable and fair performance -based assessments for initial licensure. The Performance
Assessment for Leaders (PAL) is currently being piloted. In addition to updated guidance
for the Pre-Service Performance Assessment for Teachers released in July, ESE plans to
Click here to
continue the research and investigation of new performance-based assessment for
weigh in on
teachers that began in 2012 with the piloting of the edTPA.
 Update and revise the Professional Standards for Teachers (PSTs) to build stronger
the revision
alignment with the new education evaluation framework. Please take our 5-minute
of the PSTs.
survey and provide valuable feedback about the updating of the PSTs.
Program Approval Process
 Build on the Guidelines for Program Approval (July 2013) to ensure consistent and rigorous reviews by developing
and implementing a robust program approval rubric and toolkits with detailed requirements and resources provided
upfront.
Data Collection and Use
 Launched Educator Preparation Profiles (June 2013) and updating the profiles to include additional information,
including candidate employment data this fall and evaluation data in 2014-2015.
 Transition to the Early ID System. This state-supported data system will help organizations track candidate progress
and more easily report annual data.
 Develop Edwin Analytics for educator preparation. Edwin Analytics will allow organizations access to detailed,
disaggregated data and additional reporting capabilities to support continuous improvement.
ESE’s Ed Prep team is committed to guaranteeing that preparation in Massachusetts results in effective educators ready
to support the success of all students. We are excited to have the support of CCSSO and you, our partners, in this
important work.
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Commonwealth Collaborations:
Advancing Educator Preparation in Massachusetts
On Friday, September 27th the Department of Higher Education, Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Early Education
brought together leaders from over 75% of the Sponsoring Organizations in the
state to learn and discuss the effective use and alignment of Common Core
Standards in educator preparation.
After hearing from each of the agency commissioners, attendees listened to a
keynote address from Ross Weiner, Vice President at the Aspen Institute. One
participant remarked, “I’ve seen a lot of presentations on the Common Core and
this is by far the best one!” The day continued with a series of panels and
working sessions. If you are interested in receiving the day’s materials, please
send an email to edprep@doe.mass.edu.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
Educator Evaluation Spring Convening: Update
This past May, ESE brought together over 600 education professionals from all
over Massachusetts to learn, connect and discuss the implementation of the
new Educator Evaluation Framework. In attendance were district personnel,
union leaders, practitioners and representatives from over 80% of the educator
preparation programs in the state. In the first effort of its kind to support the
PK-12 to ed prep alignment, ESE is looking forward to future opportunities to
continue our conversations.
All resources used during the Spring Convening, including presentations and
reference materials for the Ed Eval Framework, are available here.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………......
Program Reviews: Administrative Leadership and SEI
Administrative Leadership Reviews
The Ed Prep Team has finalized reviews for the majority of the 31 Sponsoring
Organizations that submitted new Administrative Leadership programs. Many
Sponsoring Organizations received the new “approved with conditions”
designation and are working with individual Ed Prep Specialists to respond to
findings within the established timeline. As a reminder, candidates have until
December 31st of this year to complete program requirements under old
regulations. As of January 1, 2014 all Administrative Leadership programs must
be approved under the new regulations to endorse candidates for licensure.
Sheltered English Immersion Reviews
ESE has been working with a cadre of qualified SEI reviewers to complete the
reviews of SEI submissions. While over 50% of the reviews have been
completed, recently, the Ed Prep team has taken additional steps to expedite
the remaining reviews. As a result, we are looking forward to communicating
with each Sponsoring Organization about an anticipated delivery date for the
reviews by early November.
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ED PREP CALENDAR
OCTOBER 2013
Friday, October 25th MACTE Fall
Conference at The College of Holy
Cross, Worcester.
NOVEMBER 2013
National Accreditation
Partnership Agreement
Discussion – Tentative date of
November 22nd 1:30 – 3:30 pm.
Formal invite forthcoming.
DECEMBER 2013
Reviews of ESL programs will be
conducted and Sponsoring
Organizations will be notified of
their approval status in December
with the expectation that new ESL
programs will be implemented by
the December 31, 2013 deadline
outlined in regulations, 603 7.03
(8)(c).
Tuesday, December 31st Last day
to endorse candidates in the old
ELAR system.
JANUARY 2014
Program Approval Toolkits
released.
FEBRUARY 2014
February 1st The Informal Review
window opens. See the Guidelines
for Program Approval pg. 15.
Extension for Transitioning to Early ID System
The Early ID System was designed to:



Improve data collection.
Streamline reporting on employment, retention and performance of
candidates.
Create a tool to support Sponsoring Organizations’ efforts towards
continuous improvement.
To help you navigate the new system, you can find a detailed user guide, quick
guide and frequently asked questions document on our Educator Preparation
website.
We listened! Originally, the transition deadline from the previous endorsement
system to the Early ID System was August 2013. In an effort to be responsive to
input from the field, ESE has extended the transition time. The last date to
endorse candidates in the old ELAR system is now January 1, 2014.
Any candidates who complete a preparation program after January 1 will need
to be endorsed using the new Early ID System. Please use this additional time
to enter candidates who are currently enrolled in your preparation programs
into the Early ID System.
Ideas for gathering MEPIDs
The Early ID System uses MEPIDs (Massachusetts Education Personnel Identifier)
instead of social security numbers to identify candidates. MEPIDs are unique, 8digit numbers assigned to candidates when they create an ELAR profile. You will
need candidates’ MEPIDs to enroll and endorse them in the Early ID System.
Here are some ways Sponsoring Organizations across the state have planned to
best collect and track MEPIDs:




Have candidates create an ELAR profile and report their MEPID as an
assignment in one of their first classes or at orientation. Candidates turn a
form in to the professor with their MEPID, which is then entered into a
database.
Have candidates report their MEPID with a form provided by their faculty
advisor at their first meeting which is then entered into a database.
Include a form in the admissions packet asking candidates to create an ELAR
profile and provide their MEPID when they accept the admissions offer.
Send an online survey to candidates asking for their MEPID.
Additional Forthcoming Resources from ESE
 One page “How-to” on creating an ELAR Profile/MEPID for Sponsoring
Organizations to share with candidates.
 Video demonstrations for the entire Early ID 3-pointer System (recording
candidates at time of enrollment, non-practicum coursework completion
and program completion).
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USEFUL LINKS AND
RESOURCES ON
ESE’S WEBSITE
Educator Preparation
Early ID System Information and
Resources
Regulations for Licensure and
Program Approval
Educator Preparation Advisories
and Guidelines
Performance Assessment for
Leaders (PAL)
Educator Evaluation
Rethinking Equity and Teaching for
English Language Learners
(RETELL/SEI)
MTEL
Technical Assistance FAQs
ESE is committed to providing timely feedback and technical assistance to
Sponsoring Organizations. Towards this goal, the Ed Prep team has developed a
system to organize and track questions and concerns regarding program approval
and program regulations. We meet weekly as a team to ensure consistency and
accuracy in responding to your questions. We will also be including the most
common FAQs in each edition of our quarterly newsletter.
QUESTIONS?
Contact your State Specialist for
Educator Preparation or email
edprep@doe.mass.edu.
What does the 100 hours of full-responsibility requirement for practicum hours
mean?
As outlined in our Program Approval Guidelines (pages 24-26), all individuals in
educator preparation programs shall assume full responsibility of the classroom
for a minimum of 100 hours. For classroom-based practitioners, full responsibility
requires that candidates:


assume full control of all classroom duties regularly fulfilled by
supervising practitioner;
oversee responsibilities related to the education of all students on the
classroom roster.
For educators not based in a classroom (i.e., administrative roles or professional
support personnel), full responsibility requires that candidates assume full
control of all duties regularly fulfilled by supervising practitioner.
The 100 hours of full responsibility does not have to be consecutive. The intent of
this requirement is to mirror the experience of being a full-time educator.
What are the criteria for the role of Supervising Practitioner?
A Supervising Practitioner is an educator who has at least three full years of
experience under an appropriate Initial or Professional license; and has received
a rating of proficient or higher on his/her most recent summative evaluation.
What documentation do Sponsoring Organizations need to provide to confirm
Supervising Practitioner ratings?
Sponsoring Organizations will need to ask school district administrators to supply
the programs with a list of the names of teachers and/or administrators who the
school district recommends and who are both interested and qualified to act in
the role of a supervising practitioner. ESE is working with HR managers and
superintendents to make district personnel, and in particular principals, aware of
this request from Sponsoring Organizations.
_________________________________________________________________
ESE’s Ed Prep Team is working with the Office of English Language Acquisition &
Academic Achievement (OELLA) to issue an FAQ document specific to the many
questions ESE continues to receive around the SEI/RETELL requirements.
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NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK
We want to ensure that this
newsletter is both informative and
user-friendly. Please take twominutes to tell us what’s working
and suggest possible topics for
future editions.
Give feedback here.
Questions or Comments: EdPrep@doe.mass.edu
Newsletter Feedback: In order to provide you with the most useful information, please click here to complete
our two-minute survey on our newsletter.
Contact the Ed Prep Team:
Shelly Chin, State Specialist for Educator Preparation, schin@doe.mass.edu
Meagan Comb, Educator Preparation Manager, mcomb@doe.mass.edu
Maria Frederick, State Specialist for Educator Preparation, mfrederick@doe.mass.edu
Nancy Labrie, State Specialist for Educator Preparation, nlabrie@doe.mass.edu
Elizabeth Losee, Assistant Director for Educator Policy, Preparation and Leadership, elosee@doe.mass.edu
Matthew Nixon, State Specialist for Educator Preparation, mnixon@doe.mass.edu
Margaret Regan, State Specialist for Educator Preparation, mregan@doe.mass.edu
General questions/comments for Administrative Leadership programs are welcome at: admleadership@doe.mass.edu.
General questions/comments for SAR/Title II are welcome at: sar_titleII_report@doe.mass.edu.
Ed Prep Website: http://www.doe.mass.edu/EdPrep/
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is committed to preparing all students for success in the world
that awaits them after high school. Whether you are a student, parent, educator, community leader, taxpayer, or other
stakeholder interested in education, we invite you to join us in this endeavor.
We are guided by this mission...
"To strengthen the Commonwealth's public education system so that every student is prepared to succeed in
postsecondary education, compete in the global economy, and understand the rights and responsibilities of American
citizens, and in so doing, to close all proficiency gaps."
And by these goals...

Strengthen curriculum, instruction, and assessment

Improve educator effectiveness

Turn around the lowest performing districts and schools

Use data and technology to support student performance
To receive the quarterly Educator Preparation Newsletter in your inbox, please send an
email with your name, title, organization and email address to: EdPrep@doe.mass.edu
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